THIS WEEK: Lawyers seek annulment of age limit law
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | Lawyers under their umbrella – Uganda Law Society on Jan.15 petitioned Court challenging the constitutionality of the recently passed constitutional amendments where presidential age limits were removed from the constitution and the term of office of members of parliament and district council leaders increased from five to seven years. In their petition, lawyers led by their president Francis Gimara note that the extra two years that the MPs gave themselves are unconstitutional since the contract the elected leaders have with their voters is for them to serve for five years.
Putting the Attorney General as the respondent, the lawyers say that the events that followed enactment of the amendment act where parliament was invaded and MPs clobbered and the process of consultations where human rights violations were committed when gatherings organized by the opposition were dispersed undermined the integrity of parliament.